Thanks to Coronavirus, Filming for 'The Bachelorette' Has Been Postponed

The outbreak of the coronavirus (or COVID-19) has spread rapidly across the globe, affecting not only the town of Wuhan where the virus originated but other countries as well. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a category three travel advisory for Italy, recommending no unnecessary travel to the country as the virus continues to spread.

While this obviously throws everyone's personal travel plans off the rails, it's also messing with filming for this season of The Bachelorette, changing the show's filming locations.

So far, only a handful of filming locations have been confirmed for this season of The Bachelorette, but some of the original international destinations have been put on hold amid the outbreak.

“As the health and safety of our talent and employees are always our primary concerns, production travel is being evaluated on a case-by-case basis, factoring in the latest information from a variety of organizations, including the CDC, WHO, U.S. State Department and in-territory local health agencies,” a statement from Warner Bros. said.

Previously, Reality Steve confirmed that production had settled on Iceland, Croatia, and Rome as international locations for Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette. But considering the state of Italy and how quickly the virus is spreading, it's likely most international travel this season will be canceled completely.

The only domestic location confirmed for this season so far is Chattanooga, Tenn.

On March 13, the day that filming for this season was supposed to begin, Warner Bros. announced they would be postponing production until further notice.

"With the rapidly changing events related to COVID-19, and out of an abundance of caution, Warner Bros. Television Group is halting production on some of our 70+ series and pilots currently filming or about to begin," the statement read, according to Entertainment Weekly. "There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on any of our productions, but the health and safety of our employees, casts and crews remains our top priority. During this time, we will continue to follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control as well as local officials and public health professionals in each city where our productions are based.”

It's unclear if this will affect the premiere date of Season 16, which is currently set for May 18, or if that will join the long list of shows and movies being delayed by the coronavirus panic.

Maybe this will give production more time to cast better contestants for Clare's season. Right now, the average age of the men competing for her heart is 28, with only a handful of men close in age to the 38-year-old bachelorette.

Unfortunately, it's possible that The Bachelorette won't be the only show to be affected by the outbreak. The upcoming seasons of Bachelor in Paradise and Bachelor: Summer Games may also be affected by this pandemic, if it continues to spread at the rate it is.

Bachelor in Paradise is normally filmed in Sayulita, Mexico at the Playa Escondida Resort. At the time of writing, Mexico currently has eight confirmed cases of COVID-19, though the CDC has yet to put a travel advisory on the country. If the virus continues to infect people as rapidly as it has in other countries, it's possible Bachelor in Paradise will need to find a new filming location for this season.

Bachelor: Summer Games is still in the early stages of development, but coronavirus could have the biggest impact on this one-season spinoff.

Summer Games brings together contestants from the international Bachelor franchises, meaning a lot of the contestants travel overseas to compete. If the spread continues, some contestants may not be able to participate or the program may be canceled all together.

“Well, it is an issue, certainly, because this is a show that has an international cast, too,” ABC’s senior vice president of alternative programming Robert Mills said on Bachelor Recap. “These are things that are being talked about, I will say. So let’s hope Bachelor: Summer Games happens.”